Electric bulb handling device



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ELECTRIC BULB HANDLING DEVICE Filed Feb. 1, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 He. J.

2 2 I' INVENTOR.

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June 12, 1951 c. D. MOZENA ELECTRIC BULB HANDLING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 1, 1949 a m P BY a/z/Zm/ INVENTOR flags.

Patented June 12, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRIC BULB HANDLING DEVICE Clair D. Mozena, Aredale, Iowa Application February 1, 1949, Serial No. 73,935

1 Claim.

height above the fioor or ground and out of reach 7 of a person of normal height.

Generally the device of my invention consistsv of a vacuum cup receptacle into which the bulb snugly fits to be held by suction therein, and a group of flexible wire fingers lightly engaging the bulb as a safety measure, the receptacle and fingers being secured upon an elongated handle.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated one complete example of the physical embodiment of my invention according to the best mode I have thus far devised, but it will be understood that various changes and alterations may be made in the exemplified structure within the scope of the appended claim.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the device of my invention with a conventional bulb secured therein.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device of my invention with the bulb therein.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the bulb holder.

Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view of the vacuum cup.

Referring now to the drawings wherein I have illustrated the present preferred embodiment of my invention I employ an elongated handle 2 of conventional style and of suitable length upon the end of which the recessed neck 4 of the suction cup or socket B is attached.

This cup is generally conical in shape and is formed with offsets 8 in the wall thereof and being of resilient material as rubber, the cup will easily deform to grip the usual electric lamp bulb 10 having a connector [2.

The peripheral ribs [4 between the offsets 8 of the wall form pockets or receptacles of different diameters to receive different sized bulbs and the concave rounded portion l6 of the cup serves as an air chamber from which air is expressed when the cup is pressed onto a bulb and the vacuum pressure forces the cup to cling to the bulb.

This vacuum pressure will generally hold the bulb adequately and will transmit rotary movement of the handle to the bulb, but as a precaution against the bulb being dislodged, I employ a series of clamp fingers comprising resilient wire sections 18 the ends of which are secured in clamp ring or split side collar 20 by bolt 22 and wing nut 24 on the handle 2 and these fingers are curved about the wider portion of the cup and the connecting links of the fingers are covered with a soft, gripping material 25 as rubber, cloth and the like.

The fingers, of course, ride out and over the bulb as it is moved therethrough and these fingers are an added safeguard but they do not clamp the bulb tightly enough to rotate the bulb. Such pressure as would be so required, would likely break the bulb when the fingers pressed upon the large part of the bulb.

From the above description it will be apparent that the device of my invention may with facility be used to grip a bulb to be removed from its socket, or to be inserted therein, the bulb being secured by vacuum pressure with the added safeguard in the flexible fingers so that damage or breakage is minimized and the burned out bulb may be removed and a new bulb inserted with a minimum of time and effort.

Having thus. fully described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In a device for handling lamp bulbs, the combination with a deformable socket of resilient rubber having a central concave vacuum cup adapted to grip the free end of the bulb, the wall of the socket above the cup having an exterior series of stepped concentric olfsets forming interior annular shoulders of successively increasing diameter for coacting with the cup for gripping bulbs of different sizes, a recessed neck on the socket, and a handle inserted in the recessed neck, of a split side collar mounted on the handle and means for clamping the collar in adjusted position. and circumferentially spaced resilient and curved clamp fingers mounted on the collar and extended over and beyond the socket.

CLAIR D. MOZENA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 809,985 Rundberg Jan. 16, 1906 1,655,979 Watkins Jan. 10, 1928 1,823,170 Schulz Sept. 15, 1931 2,243,106 Limbert May 27, 1941 

